A/HRC/25/56 47. A global-level commitment to tackle inequality and address the situation of disadvantaged minorities and indigenous peoples by the international community, the United Nations, the donor community and international financial institutions is essential to encourage and ensure State-level action. If such a global message is missing or weakly stated, States that have historically neglected, denied or violated the rights and development of marginalized minority groups will have little incentive to do otherwise. Conversely, a strong requirement to address inequality, clearly articulated in a new set of post-2015 development imperatives, will serve to mobilize State action, empower civil society and minority communities, and have the potential to ensure real change on the ground for some of the most impoverished and marginalized minority groups. 48. While the increasing focus on “inequality” is welcome and vital, it is essential that this translates into far greater attention to minority issues in practice in every State. It is essential not only to address the challenges of “the poor”, but to identify who are the poorest, where and why — to find the inequality where it is gravest. A deeper understanding of the inequalities which lie behind poverty, social exclusion and economic marginalization is necessary if nationally and internationally we are to overcome the barriers to development experienced by disadvantaged minorities. 49. Discussions on the post-2015 agenda must take into account evidence that indicates that a rapidly increasing proportion of the world’s poor are minority groups. In many situations globally, in both developing and developed countries, poverty takes on ethnic, religious and linguistic dimensions. An honest assessment of why minority groups face more severe challenges reveals that discrimination and exclusion form a launching pad for a host of obstacles for minorities. At the national level, long-term success in poverty reduction and in reaching development targets for minorities requires an investment in tackling the root causes of inequality, as well as its symptoms. 50. In core documents emerging from the consultations on the post-2015 agenda, there is little, if any, recognition that minorities experience multiple and intersectional challenges that create vulnerability across a range of areas under consideration. For example, a focus on rural/urban disparities fails to acknowledge that minorities are frequently rural and remote communities with poor access to services and basic needs. Consideration of household wealth disparities rarely makes the link between low income and belonging to a minority. It is often women from disadvantaged minorities who are most affected by poor access to education and decent employment and who suffer multiple discrimination as they are women, members of a minority and poor. When the maps of poverty, access to basic services, gender discrimination, poor housing and population groups are overlaid, minorities stand out as being the most in need. The nexus between minorities, poverty and inequality cannot be ignored. 51. Minority groups have experienced increased levels of racism and xenophobia since the financial crisis began. The 2012 Annual Report of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance noted that: “The ongoing economic crisis has created a vicious cycle in which many of the groups of concern to ECRI (vulnerable groups) are trapped. Diminished economic opportunities and welfare cuts puts them into poverty, which breeds negative feelings on both sides of the social divide”.15 15 Annual Report on ECRI’s Activities covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2012, CRI(2013)42, para. 2. Available from www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/ecri/Library/PressReleases/1462013_10_25_AnnualReport2012_en.asp. 13